RK Pachauri ‘steps away’ from TERI to pursue ‘other interests’

Pachauri was accused of sexual harassment by a former junior colleague in February last year. He had to step down as director general of the organisation, only to take up a specially-created position of executive vice-chairman.

It is not immediately clear whether Pachauri would continue to retain that position after losing his membership of the council. He had been given a one-year tenure as vice-chairman, which expires in October. A source conceded that it was a “grey area” that still needed to be resolved by the governing council. Pachauri was a member of the governing council by virtue of being director general of TERI, the highest executive post in the organisation, till the post of executive vice-chairman was created for him.

His statement, however, had indications that his association with TERI might finally be coming to an end. He wished that TERI under the new director general would achieve greater heights.

“My term as member of the governing council ended on March 31, 2016, and I felt that it was time for me to move away and get engaged in other interests which I have harboured over the past few years for activities at the global level,” the statement said.

“I have had the good fortune of leading TERI for three-decades-and-a-half…The staff of TERI are its greatest
treasure, which under the new director general will take the institute to much greater heights in the years ahead,” it said.

Pachauri is currently travelling abroad on work. He has been out of India since April 11 and is scheduled to return on April 28. On May 2, he is scheduled to travel abroad again, a source said.

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